World Cup a highlight of Putin's presidency, says top Russia correspondent

FIFA President, Gianni Infantino speaks to Vladimir Putin, President of Russia as they walk onto the stage during the Final Draw for the 2018 FIFA World Cup Russia at the State Kremlin Palace on December 1, 2017 in Moscow, Russia. (Photo by Matthias Hangst/Bongarts/Getty Images)

by Keir Radnedge, AIPS Football Commission Chairman

LONDON,
January 15, 2018 - Russia** will “pull out all the stops” to make a success of
its World Cup hosting in the face of ongoing criticism about its hosting
credibility after the doping and discrimination scandals.

An
insight into the determination of the Russians has been offered by Angus
Roxburgh, a former BBC and Sunday Times correspondent in Moscow and a man with
rare insight and understanding of the country.

Roxburgh
worked as a translator in the former Soviet Union before becoming a foreign
correspondent, ‘lived’ the transition out of communism and later had a short
spell as PR adviser to the Kremlin.

His
qualifications for a view on the Russian World Cup in June and July are evident
from his career as recounted in newly-published Moscow Calling.

Russia
won host rights to the 2018 finals after beating off opposition from England,
Belgium/Holland and Portugal/Spain in a controversial two-handed vote in
December 2010 by the executive committee of world football federation FIFA.

Since
then the hosting has come under sustained attack, particularly from some media
outlets with an anti-Russian agenda – though recent claims in Russia of state-funded
encouragement are wide of the mark.

Roxburgh
said: “The Russians will pull out all the stops to try to ensure the World Cup
is a success and as problem-free as possible for fans.

“Vladimir
Putin will see this is as a highlight of his presidency - he will have been
re-elected just a few months before it all kicks off - and will be determined
to make it a success.

“He is
already anticipating that western human rights groups will try to ‘cause
trouble’, as they did around the Sochi Winter Olympics by highlighting gay
rights.

“He
might even be worried that in the current climate of anti-Russian fever,
following the alleged collusion in the US election of Donald Trump, some
countries might even boycott the World Cup. This would, in his eyes, be par for
the score.”

The
tormented entanglement of sport and politics has been a feature of major
Russian involvements ever since the tit-for-tat Olympic Games boycotts of
Moscow and Los Angeles in the early 1980s.

Roxburgh
said: “Ever since the Moscow Olympics in 1980, Russia/the Soviet Union has
tried to impress the West with a great show, and perfect organisation, only to
find their efforts thwarted by Western protests.

“For
example, the 1980 Olympics were boycotted by the US over Afghanistan, the Sochi
Games saw a deluge of criticism over human rights and corruption ... so Putin will
expect the same this time.”

In the
past four years, the doping scandal has erupted with the revelations of whistleblowers
such as athlete Yuliya Stepanova and former Moscow laboratory director Grigory
Rodchenkov plus reports commissioned by the World Anti-Doping Agency from
veteran Olympic committee member Dick Pound and Canadian law professor Richard
McLaren.

The
Court of Arbitration for Sport in Lausanne has committed to delivering verdicts
before the end of the month on appeals against doping bans from 42 Russian
athletes, many of whom hope to compete in the PyeongChang Winter Olympics next
month.

Roxburgh
said: “Putin has been hit hard by all the bans of Russian athletes for doping and
it's significant that he sacked Vitaly Mutko [Deputy Prime Minister and
ex-Sports Minister] in December from heading the local organisation of the
World Cup because of his involvement in this.

“So Putin
is trying to minimise the possible disruption but it's perfectly possible that
some new revelations about Russian interference in western elections will
emerge in the next months and cause some countries to thinking about boycotting
coverage or whatever.

“Politics,
in other words, is never far from the surface when it comes to Russia in
international sports.”

As
Roxburgh concluded: “This is a shame but then . . . they do bring it upon
themselves.”